Pinal Today

Pinal County Supervisor Steve Miller believes 60% of the agricultural land in the county could be fallow due to a shortage of water from the Colorado River.

In a story by PinalCentral, Miller (R-Casa Grande) said many farmers depend on the Central Arizona Project to water their farms, but now more will turn more to groundwater supplies to handle the shortfall.

“For the last 20 years we’ve enjoyed minimal use of groundwater as we were using Central Arizona Project water in Pinal County," Miller said. "Around 66% of water was sourced from CAP and another third was from groundwater."

The shortfalls are unfortunate, he added, but not unexpected, as by law, the area was to lose rights to project water in 2030, if not before.

“The farmers in this area had always understood that they were going to lose CAP water by 2030,” Miller said. "The problem is they lost it by 2021. The conditions of the Colorado River had gotten to a point where the state was forced to undertake the Drought Contingency Plan, which was mandated by all the basin states. Put that together and that is what took the farmers’ ability to use CAP water out of this area.”

Although the drilling process has taken time, it is continuing, Miller said.

“The mitigation by the state of Arizona and by CAP was to allow farmers to drill more wells so that they could cover their water needs for production. They weren’t able to get all the wells in that they’ve been trying to get in," he said. "They are drilling wells as we speak and I suspect it’ll be another year and a half to two years before they have all the wells that they think they’re going to need."

Pinal County's problem, however, is that the county's hands are tied.

“The sad part of this whole story is that we have very little authority to do much of anything from a statutory viewpoint," Miller said. "I’ve gone to the Legislature to try and get little things passed to give the county a little more authority, to give the county more of a say."

“For example, last year all I wanted to do was get the county the authority to participate — can you believe this? — participate in grants," Miller continued. "We’re facing a real challenge for the future and we are trying to maneuver in and around the statutes that gives us some authority to help.”

In order for farmers to have the water they need; however, multiple people have to join the effort, Miller said.

“I’ve been doing everything from writing letters of support for grants to lobbying at a congressional level," he said. "I’m trying to get support for the San Carlos Irrigation District and working with them to get their ditches lined. We lean on our lobbyists to try and secure grants that help the farmer. All of these little things make a big difference.”

As for the fallow conditions, Miller said, farmers are going to have to be enterprising to solve the problem.

“The farmers are gonna do the best they can," he said. "They’re going to figure out which land is which and which fields they have that are the most productive. They’re going to focus on getting their productivity out of those. They’re going to convert to drip systems and find more efficiency in water usage."

As Miller said, the farmers understand the situation, because it comes with the territory.

“The farmers are going to figure out how to survive because it’s their livelihood and they understand it," he said. "They like it and it’s a rewarding profession. Let’s face it, when you are feeding people and clothing people, providing food and fiber, farmers are essential to civilization.”